My thoughts on the Phillies season.

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The Phillies (54-46) will continue their three games series with the Mets (53-47) tonight at Shea Stadium. The game will begin at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies will be sending to the mound Brett Myers (3-9, 5.84), who is coming back from a month-long minor league stint to recover both his fast ball and his confidence. His last start was back on June 27, involved in a no-decision against the Rangers, where he would only pitch two innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits, in the Phillies’ 8-7 lost. The Phillies will be hoping that his stint in the minor league has actually brought back both his fast ball and his confidence. The Mets will be countering with John Maine (8-7, 4.22), who is coming off a lost to the Reds on July 18, as he would go four and two-thirds innings, giving up five earned runs on five hits, in the Mets’ 5-2 lost. He will be going for his ninth win of the year while trying to help the Mets forget about the previous night’s shocking lost.

The Phillies will be going for a series win tonight, trying to build momentum from last night’s surprising come from behind while also trying to win their second straight games in a series. Although it is only July, this series could be end up being the turning point of the entire season, especially with the way they game back to win against a Mets’ bullpen that did not have the services of the team closer Billy Wagner, who presently have shoulders problem. Although listed as day-to-day, he claimed that he be willing to pitch if needed. Well, the Mets certainly needed him last night to help stop the Phillies’ late eruption. The fact that he did not appear last night makes me curious as to how bad his shoulder actually is, in spite of the MRI that was taken of his shoulder turning negative. Guess we’ll all find out if he will be able to pitch for the Mets tonight if a save opportunity looms.

The Phillies have a one game lead over both the second place Mets and Marlins, while their lead over the Braves is now at seven. The Marlins and the Braves will conclude their three games series in Miami, before the Marlins go on to start a four games series with the National League best Chicago Cubs (Can you say posiible fish food for bears? :)) and the Braves have a day off before they come to Philadelphia to start a three games weekend series with the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies will be looking to increase their lead against the Mets during the rest of the series, and stay in first place, before seeing if they can bury the Braves real deep in fourth place in the NL East this upcoming weekend.

The Phillies rally to score six runs in the top of the ninth inning off of a Billy Wagner-less Mets’ bullpen while new Phil Joe Blanton is unable to contain the Mets in his first start as a Phil as the Phillies defeat the Mets, 8-6. The Phillies would take a quick lead in the first as Jayson Werth would hit a two out RBI single off of Mets’ starter Johan Santana, scoring Pat Burrell, who has earlier singled, to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. That would remain the score until the bottom of the third when Phillies’ starter Blanton would give up a RBI double to David Wright, knocking in Jose Reyes, who has earlier walked, to tie the game at one all. But Endy Chavez, who has singled earlier, would try to score on the play, but is instead thrown out at home plate, Burrell to Jimmy Rollins to Carlos Ruiz, who would put the tag on Chavez for the first out of the inning. Two batters later, with Wright still on second base, and with two outs, Carlos Delgado would hit his nineteenth home run of the year, a two-run shot that would give the Mets a 3-1 lead. In between the third and fourth innings, Charlie Manuel would be ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes with the third base umpire as the Phillies believed that Delgado had struck out on an 0-2 pitch while the umpire claimed that he had checked his swing. The Mets would increase their lead in the sixth, when, with a runner on first, Marlon Anderson, via a walk, and with two outs, Ramon Castro would hit his fifth home run of the year, giving the Mets a 5-1 lead. In the meantime, Santana would keep the Phillies off the scoreboard, until the seventh, when Shane Victorino would hit his sixth home run of the year, a solo shot, that would cut the Mets’ lead to 5-2. The Mets would try to break the game wide open in their half of the seventh as Rudy Seanez replaces Blanton on the mound. Seanez would give up a lead-off double to Chavez. Chavez would then attempt to score on a single to right by Wright. But, for the second time in the game, he would be thrown out at the plate, this time from Werth to Coste, who tagged him out for the first out of the inning. On the throw home, Wright would move to second. Seanez would then intentionally walk Carlos Beltran, putting runners on first and second. The Phillies would then replace Seanez with J.C. Romero. Romero would get Delgado to fly out to center for the second out. But he would then hit Damion Easley to load the bases. Romero would then get out of the inning as he would get pinch hitter Fernando Tatis to line out to Chase Utley. In the ninth inning, the Mets would replace Santana with Duaner Sanchez, thinking that the game was over. The Phillies would soon make them think otherwise. Werth would greet Sanchez with a single. Pinch hitter Greg Dobbs would follow with a single, sending Werth to second. Victorino would follow with a single, loading the bases. The Mets would then replace Sanchez with Joe Smith, as they hope that Ruiz would hit into a rally-killing double play. Ruiz would hit a ground ball to shortstop Reyes, but Reyes would somehow miss the second base bag as a hostling Victornio would reach second on the fielder’s choice ground ball. The bases thus remain loaded as Werth scores to make it a 5-3 game. The Phils would then send out Geoff Jenkins as a pinch hitter, but he would never reach the plate as the Mets would replace Smith with Pedro Feliciano, while the Phillies would counter with So Taguchi, who was so far 0-for-16 as a pinch hitter. Taguchi would this time connect as he would hit a two-run double, scoring both Dobbs and Victorino and sending Ruiz to third, as the game was now tied at five all. Rollins would then follow with a two-run double of his own, scoring both Ruiz and Taguchi, to give the Phillies a 7-5 Phillies. Utley would then ground out to first for the first out of the inning, moving Rollins over to third. Burrell is then intentionally walked, putting runners on the corners, and setting up the double play. Ryan Howard would hit a ground ball straight to Feliciano, who would then drop the ball, before picking it up and throwing out Howard, as Rollins scores to make it 8-5 Phillies, while Burrell would go to second. Aaron Heilman is then sent into the game to replace Feliciano. Heilman would walk Werth, the man who has started the inning off, putting runners on first and second, with two outs. Heliman would then get Dobbs to pop up to Reyes to end the inning. In the bottom of the ninth, the Phillies would send out their closer Brad Lidge to end the game. He starts the inning off by walking Chavez. Chavez would then go to second on defensive indifference. Lidge would then strike out Wright for the inning’s first out. Chavez would then go to third on a Lidge’s wild pitch before finally scoring on a ground out to first by Beltran, for the second out, making the score 8-6 Phillies. That would be the final score as Lidge would get Delgado to ground out, third to first for the final out, as he records his twenty-second straight save, tying the team’s record for most consecutive saves in a row set a few years earlier by Billy Wagner.

Joe Blanton would get a no-decision, as he pitches six innings in his first start as a Phil, giving up five earned runs on eight hits. Rudy Seanez would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on two hits. J.C. Romero would pitch two thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Chad Durbin would get the victory as he goes an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. His record is now 3-2 with an ERA of 1.78. Brad Lidge would record his twenty-second save, as he goes an inning, giving up an earned run on no hits. Johan Santana would also get a no-decision, going eight innings, giving up only two runs on eight scattered hits. The Mets bullpen would then take over and implode as the team’s closer, Billy Wagner, would be unavailable to pitch. Duaner Sanchez would face three batters, giving up three earned runs on three hits. Joe Smith would take the loss as he face only one batter, giving up an earned run on no hits. His record is now 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA. Pedro Feliciano would get his second blown save, as he goes two-thirds of an inning, giving up two earned runs on two hits. Aaron Heilman would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits.

The Phillies have won the game by doing something that they haven’t been able to do too much of since May, come back from behind in the ninth inning to win a game while trailing by several runs. Of course, they did it after the Mets have taken out their starter, Johan Santana, who for the third time this season has pitched a quality start against the Phillies. The Phillies would be able to produce a rally in the ninth inning, because of the use of small ball, hustling on the part of Shane Victorino on Carlos Ruiz’s ground ball, luck (Jose Reyes missing second base on Ruiz’s grounder, and Pedro Feliciano’s bobbling of Howard’s ground ball to him with the chance for an inning ending double play), some situational hitting by Chase Utley to move Jimmy Rollins over to third, and, lastly, So Taguchi finally getting a pinch hit when the Phillies needed it the most. Whether this will be the turning point of the season, or just a temporary blip on the radar screen will be found out during the next two games of the series.

The Phillies (54-46) will continue their three games series with the Mets (53-47) tomorrow night at Shea Stadium. The game will begin at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies starter will be Brett Myers (3-9, 5.84), who is coming back from a minor league stint to recover both his fast ball and his confidence. His last start was back on June 27 in a no-decision against the Rangers, where he would only pitch two innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits, in the Phillies’ 8-7 lost. The Phillies will be hoping that his stint in the minor league has actually brought back both his fast ball and his confidence. The Mets will send to the mound John Maine (8-7, 4.22), who is coming off a lost to the Reds on July 18, as he goes four and two-thirds innings, giving up five earned runs on five hits, in the Mets’ 5-2 lost. He will be going for his ninth win of the year while trying to help the Mets get over their previous night’s lost.

The Phillies, with their win, have regain sole control of first place, while they now lead both the Mets and the Marlins by one game and the Braves by seven, thanks to the Braves’ lost to the fish last night. The Phillies will now try to build momentum from their come from behind win as they attempt for either a series sweep or a series win before heading back home to meet the Braves at Citizens Bank Park for a three games weekend series.

The Phillies defeated the Mets in the ninth on a Shane Victorino’s single, with two men outs and a runner on second, winning the ballgame, 3-2. The first four innings of the ballgame would involve a pitchers’ duel between Phils’ starter J.A. Happ and Mets’ starter Johan Santana, as both would refuse to allow any of the other team’s batters to get on base. This would change in the top of the fifth. Damion Easley would begin the inning with a single to left. Ramon Castro would then follow with a ground rule double, putting runners on second and third. Chris Aguila would then load the bases with a walk, after Happ had gotten ahead of him, 0-2. Santana would then strike out for the inning’s first out. Jose Reyes would then come up and hit a ground ball to the second baseman Chase Utley, beating the throw to first from the shortstop Jimmy Rollins, as Aguila is thrown out at second, allowing Easley to score and Castro to go to third, and giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. The next batter, Endy Chavez, then walks, reloading the bases as Reyes goes to second. David Wright then gets the walk, after Happ has just missed getting a called third strike, forcing in Castro, and giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. Charlie Manuel would then take out Happ, and replace him with Chad Durbin. Durbin would then end the inning as he strikes out Carlos Beltran. Durbin would stay in the game, and would proceed to strike out five of the six Mets’ batters whom he would face in the next two innings, for a total of six strike outs. Meanwhile, the Phillies would finally score against Santana in the bottom of the sixth. After Chad Durbin starts the inning off by striking out, Jayson Werth would get on base with a single. Utley would follow with a single, sending Werth to second. Rollins would then fly out for the second out. Ryan Howard would then follow with a RBI single to left, scoring Werth and sending Utley to second, as the Phillies cut the Mets’ lead to 2-1. Pat Burrell would then hit a RBI single, also to left, scoring Utley and sending Howard to second, as the Phillies would tie the game at two all. Santana would finally get out of the inning by getting Pedro Feliz to ground out, second to first. The game would stay tied until the bottom of the ninth. After Brad Lidge would get an easy 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth, Mets’ reliever, Duaner Sanchez, would strike out the first two men that he would face, Howard and Burrell, both of them swinging. He would then give up a double to Feliz. After getting ahead of the count on Victorino, 1-2, Sanchez would throw a fastball, which Victorino would line to right field for a single, scoring Feliz with the winning run, as the Phillies would win the first game of the four games series, 3-2.

J.A. Happ would get a no-decision as he pitches four and two-thirds innings, pitching well until the fifth inning, giving up only two earned runs on just three hits, striking out three and walking four. Chad Durbin would pitch two and a third innings, giving up no runs on no hits, and striking out six of the seven Mets whom he would face. Ryan Madson would pitch an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. Brad Lidge would get the win as he pitches a 1-2-3 inning. He is now 2-0 with a ERA of 0.77. Johan Santana would also get a no-decision as he pitches eight strong innings, giving up only two earned runs on six hits, while striking out six. Duaner Sanchez would get the lost as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up an earned run on two hits.

The Phillies’ offense stay in against Santana, although at time swinging at his pitches, until they were finally able to get to him in the sixth to tie the game. They were able to get only eight hits tonight, all but one of them being singles (1 (2B)), but the Phillies’ pitchers would only allow four hits to Mets’ batters. J.A. Happ would pitch a good game until the fifth, going after the hitters, and getting a large number of pop and fly outs. In the fifth, he probably got a bit high on the excitement when he got into trouble for the first time in the fifth inning, which might explain two of his walks, first to Aguila and then to Chavez, but with Wright, a pitch that should have been called a strike was instead called a ball. One of the Phillies’ broadcasters, commenting on it, believed that he didn’t get the call because he’s a rookie. If that’s the case, it’s a real shame, since it would’ve ended the inning, and with the Mets only scoring one run in the inning. Anyway, during the next two inning, Happ would be seen talking with the veteran Jamie Moyer. Oh oh, looks like someone else is trying to learn at the feet of the veteran. I think the rest of the league might be in trouble if the young bloods continue to listen to the vet. :)

The four games series with the Mets will continue tomorrow night at Citizens Bank Park. The game will begin at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies (48-39) will send to the mound Jamie Moyer (7-6, 4.13), who is coming off a lost against the Rangers on June 29, where he went five and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits, while striking out six, in the Phillies’ 5-1 lost. He has lost his last three starts, although pitching well in each game. He will once again be trying for his eighth victory, while seeing if he can increase the present Phillies’ winning streak to five games. The Mets (42-44) will counter with John Maine (8-6, 3.86), who is coming off a lost to the Cardinals on June 30, as he was only able to go four innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits, in the Mets’ 7-1 lost. He will be trying for his ninth win of the year, while trying to stop the Phillies’ offense.

The Phillies’ victory now put them three games ahead of the Marlins, although the fish are presently leading their game with the Rockies, which is turning into a shootout in Denver. The Mets’ lost put them five and a half games behind the Phillies. The Braves are still trailing the Phillies by seven games as they have won their game with the Astros. The Phillies hope to continue playing good baseball while trying to put some distance between them and the rest of the National League East before the All-Star break.

Edit: The Marlins now trail the Phillies by three and a half games, as they have just lost a shoot out with the Rockies in the bottom of the ninth, as the Rockies have scored two runs to win the game, 18-17. I’m surprised that the Rockies were able to come back after trailing at one point 13-4. I wonder if the Marlins’ players are in shock right now, wondering what have just happened, cause I know that at least one Marlins’ fan is going to be real ticked off the moment he finds out about this.

The Phillies (46-39) will finish their three games visit with the Braves (40-45) tonight, with a chance for a sweep and, surprises of surprises, a winning road trip. The game will be played at Turner Field, with a start time of 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starting pitcher will be their ace, Cole Hamels (8-5, 3.38), who is coming off a good start against the Rangers on June 28, where he went seven innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits, in the Phillies’ 8-6 win. He has already faced the Braves once this season, pitching a four-hit shut out against them on May 15, going all nine innings, in the Phillies’ 5-0 win. He will be shooting for his ninth win of the year and to complete the Phillies’ second straight sweep of the Braves in their own home ballpark, as well as give the Phillies a commanding 8-1 lead in the season series. The Braves will counter with Jair Jurrjens (8-3, 2.94), who will be looking to prevent the sweep. He is coming off a victory against the Blue Jays on June 27, where he would pitch eight innings, giving up no earned runs on three hits, in the Braves’ 4-0 win. In his last four starts, he has won three of them, with a no-decision in the fourth, which was also won by the Braves. In those four starts, he would give up only five earned runs in twenty-seven and two-thirds innings of work, while giving up no earned runs in his last twenty-three and two-thirds innings, while also giving up only twenty-five hits. He will also be shooting for his ninth victory of the year, while seeing if he can stop the Phillies’ just reawaken bats and keep the Braves from being swept for the second straight time by the Phillies.

The Phillies’ offense appear to have reawaken after being put to sleep by interleague play against some very good American League teams (and the Rangers). They are once again getting extra-base hits, having gotten nine (4 (2B), 1 (3B), 4 (HR)) of them among their twenty-seven hits. If the offense can continue to hit through their upcoming four games series with the Mets, then they will be tough to beat for the rest of the season. They can right now establish a stranglehood on the division, if their starting pitching can continue to pitch as well as they are right now, in spite of the Brett Myers situation, and the bullpen can stay in its league leading form. The resurgence of the Phillies’ hot bats can only mean trouble for the other teams in a very weak division.

The Phillies are presently leading the Marlins by a game and a half, as they begin a four games series with the Rockies in Denver. Their lead over the Mets is now at four and a half games as they prepare to conclude their four games series with the Cardinals. The Braves are now trailing the Phillies by six games, as they prepare for the last games of their series with the first place Phillies, before getting ready for a three games home stand with the Astros. The Phillies will now be trying to create some breathing space between them and their nearest opponents as they get closer to the All-Star break.

Adam Eaton finally gets his third win of the year as the Phillies defeat the Braves once again in their home ballpark, 7-3. The Phillies would score their first run of the game in the second inning, as Pedro Feliz (ground rule) and Chris Coste would hit back to back doubles to score Feliz and give the Phillies a quick 1-0 lead. The Phillies would try to make 2-0 when Coste would be sent home in an attempt to score on an Eaton single to left. Unfortunately, a strike to home from left fielder Gregor Blanco, and a tag by catcher Brain McCann, would instead end the inning and leave it 1-0 Phillies. The Phillies would add to their lead in the third as Ryan Howard would hit his twenty-first home run of the year, a three-run shot, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who has earlier singled, and Chase Utley, who has walked, to make it 4-0 Phillies. They would increase their lead to 5-0 in the top of the fifth as Pat Burrell would hit a solo home run into left field, his twenty-first home of the year. The Braves would cut the lead down to 5-1 in their half of the fifth when pinch hitter Ruben Gotay would hit his second home run of the season. Then in the bottom of the sixth, the Braves would try to get back into the ballgame, loading the bases with a double by Mark Teixeira, a walk to McCann and a single to Kelly Johnson, with nobody out. That would be it for Adam Eaton, who had pitched a good game up to that point. Charlie Manuel would replace him on the mound with Chad Durbin. This would turn out to be a brilliant move as Durbin would get the first batter that he would face, the badly slumping Jeff Francoeur, to hit into a 6-4-3 twin killing, wiping out Johnson at second, while bringing home Teixeira, making it 5-2 Phillies. Durbin would then end the threat by striking out Mark Kotsay. The Braves would get another run in the eighth inning, as Chipper Jones hits his seventeenth home run of the year, a solo shot to center, making it a 5-3 game. The Phillies would then put the game away in the ninth, as they increased their lead. Eric Bruntlett would starts things off with a walk. After Bobby Cox sends out Royce Ring in place of Blaine Boyer, Rollins would greet him with a RBI triple, scoring Bruntlett, and increasing the Phillies’ lead to 6-3. Two batters later, with Rollins still on third and one out, Utley would knock him in with a single, making it 7-3 Phils. That would turn out to be the ballgame, as Brad Lidge would come in and pitch a scoreless ninth, in spite of the Braves loading up the bases, thanks in part to two fielding errors committed by Howard, as Lidge would end the game by striking out Teixeira.

Adam Eaton would get the win, as he pitch well for six innings plus three batters, giving up only two earned runs on five scattered hits. His record is now 3-6 with a ERA of 4.79. Chad Durbin would pitch two innings, giving up no runs on no hits. J.C. Romero would pitch two-thirds of an innings, giving up an earned run on one hit, Chipper Jones’ home run. Ryan Madson would pitch a scoreless, hittless third of an inning, striking out the only man he’d faced. Brad Lidge would pitch a wild, but scoreless ninth inning, giving up a hit while striking out the side. Jorge Campillo took the loss, as he pitched five innings, giving up five earned runs on eight hits. His record is now 3-3 with a 2.99 ERA. Jeff Bennett would pitch an inning and a third of scoreless ball, giving up just two hits. Will Ohman would pitch two-thirds of an inning of scoreless ball, giving up no hits. Blaine Boyer would pitch an inning plus one batter, giving up an earned run on one hit. Royce Ring would pitch an inning, also giving up an earned run on two hits.

It would appear that the Phillies’ bats have awaken from their interleague play slumber as they got thirteen more hits last night, six of which were for extra bases (3 (2B), 1 (3B), 2 (HR)), something that was missing during the slide. If the bats have indeed come back to life, then this is going to be a long summer, for Phillies’ opponents. Also, Adam Eaton might have turned a corner, as he has finally gotten the runs support that has been missing in most of his previous start. If he has been listening to Jamie Moyer for pitching advice, like the previous night’s starter Kyle Kendrick, then the starting rotation might end up getting better as the season progress. But, even with the win, there is one present cause for concern, Ryan Howard’s fielding, as he single handedly almost got the Braves back into the ballgame because of a pair of fielding miscues, especially on the one that lead to the bases being loaded on a ball that he should’ve let Utley field for the final out. Someone may need to take Howard out and help him get the feel of playing first base before it can really hurt the Phils.

The Phillies (46-39) will conclude their three games visit with the Braves (40-45), with a chance for a sweep and, surprises of surprises, a winning road trip. The game will be played tonight at Turner Field, with a start time of 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be their ace, Cole Hamels (8-5, 3.38), who is coming off a good start against the Rangers on June 28, where he went seven innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits, in the Phillies’ 8-6 win. He has already faced the Braves this season, pitching a four-hit shut out against them on May 15, going all nine innings, in the Phillies’ 5-0 win. He will be shooting for his ninth win of the year and to complete the Phillies’ second sweep of the Braves in their own home ballpark. The Braves will be sending Jair Jurrjens (8-3, 2.94) to the mound to try and prevent the sweep. He is coming off a victory against the Blue Jays on June 27, where he would pitch eight innings, giving up no earned runs on three hits, in the Braves’ 4-0 win. In his last four starts, he has won three of them, with a no-decision in the fourth, which was also won by the Braves. In those games, he would give up only five earned runs in twenty-seven and two-thirds innings of work, while giving up no earned runs in the last twenty-three and two-thirds innings, while also giving up only twenty-five hits. He will also be shooting for his ninth victory, while seeing if he can stop the Phillies’ just reawaken bats and keep the Braves from being swept for the second straight time by the Phillies.

With the victory, the Phillies stay a game and a half ahead of the Marlins, who had earlier in the day beaten the Nationals. The Phils lead the Mets now by four and a half game as they’d lost their game to the Cardinals. The Phillies lead over the Braves is now at six games with their win. The Phillies will now try to leave Atlanta with a sweep of the Braves, before coming home to Citizens Bank Park to start a three teams, ten games in ten days, home stand before the All-Star break, during which they hope to create some breathing room between them and their nearest opponent.

The Phillies have lost their sixth straight series as they waste another good start by Jamie Moyer as they lose to the Rangers, 5-1. The Rangers would take a quick 1-0 lead in the first as Michael Young would hit a RBI ground out, short to first, scoring Ian Kinsler, who has earlier tripled. They would add a second run in the second, as rookie Chris Davis would hit his second career home run, to make it 2-0 Rangers. In the third, the Rangers would increase their lead to 3-0, as Josh Hamilton would single in Young, who has earlier doubled. While Moyer would keep the Rangers off of the scoreboard after that inning, the Rangers’ starter, rookie Eric Hurley, would keep the Phillies’ offense silent, despite some of the batters actually getting some deep counts against him. The Phillies would finally get a run on the board as Ryan Howard would hit a RBI single, scoring Chase Utley, who has earlier doubled, to make it 3-1 Rangers. The Rangers would then put the game away in the eight, as Ramon Vazquez would get an RBI single, scoring Marlon Byrd, who has earlier doubled, to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead. The Rangers would score their final run on a ground out by Young, scoring Max Ramirez, who has earlier been hit by the pitch. C.J. Wilson would then come in the ninth for a quick 1-2-3 inning to end the ballgame.

Jamie Moyer would take the lost in spite of keeping the Phillies in the game, as he goes five and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and striking out six batters. His record is now 7-6 with a 4.13 ERA. Ryan Madson would pitch two and one third innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits. Eric Hurley would get his first career victory, as he would also go five and two-thirds innings, giving up only one earned run on five hits. His record is now 1-1 with a ERA of 3.57. Jamey Wright, Eddie Guardado and C.J. Wilson would combine for three and one third innings of hitless ball.

The Phillies’ offense, after a short revival, would go back to sleep, in spite of an early attempt to stay patient inside the batter’s box against the rookie Hurley. Gary Matthews, the ex-Phil, and a present-day Phillies’ Announcer, would offer one of the reasons for the batters’ present slump. The players are presently hitting the ball with the end of the bat, instead of the bat’s sweet spot, near the middle, which is leading to weak outs. Maybe, maybe not. What I do know is that it is really starting to get on my nerves that the batters’ are not doing anything to help correct the problem. Sounds to me like Charlie Manuel may need to take these guys behind close doors and read them the riot act to get them thinking about what they are doing wrong. Well, one can only hope, right? *Sigh*

The Phillies (44-39) have finally finished their involvement in interleague play, with a 4-11 record, losing all five series. They will now have the day off, which they will hopefully use to get their heads screwed back on before they begin a three games series with the Braves in Hot-lanta, and then come home for a four games Independence Day weekend series with the Mets.

With the lost, the Phillies’ lead in the East drop down once again to one full game as the Marlins defeat the Diamondbacks. The Mets are now back in third place, trailing the floundering Phillies by three games as they defeat the Yankees. The Braves now trail the Phillies by four games as they lose to the Blue Jays in Toronto. The Phillies will now try to regroup and get back on the winning track.

The Phillies hang on to give Cole Hamels his eighth win of the season, as the bats decided to wake up to defeat the Rangers, 8-6. It wouldn’t look like the Phillies would actually win the game at first as Michael Young would go deep on Hamels in the first inning, hitting his seventh home run of the year, knocking in Ian Kinsler, who has earlier singled, to give the Rangers a quick 2-0 lead. But then the Phillies would for the next two innings erupt on their former teammate Vicente Padilla for six runs. It would start in the second inning, when, with one out, Ryan Howard would get on base with a walk. Greg Dobbs and Pedro Feliz would then both follow with singles, soon loading the bases. Jayson Werth would then follow them with a two-run RBI single, scoring both Howard and Dobbs and sending Feliz to third, tying the score at two. Then, with Chris Coste batting, Padilla would uncork a wild pitch, scoring Feliz, and giving the Phillies a 3-2 lead. The Phillies would then add on to their lead in the third, when, once again with one out, Chase Utley would hit his National League home run lead tying twenty-third home run of the year, a solo shot, giving the Phillies a 4-2 lead. Two batters later, with Pat Burrell on first base via a walk, Howard would hit his twentieth home run of the year, a two-run shot, scoring Burrell, to make it 6-2 Phillies. The Rangers would try to come back in the fifth, when, with one out, and a runner on first, Jarrod Saltalamacchia would hit a RBI double, scoring Brandon Boggs, who has earlier reached base on a Utley’s throwing error after a force out, moving to second base on the error, cutting the Phillies’ lead to 6-3. One out later Saltalamacchia would score on a RBI single by Kinster, to make it 6-4 Phillies. The Phillies would get a run back in the sixth when Jimmy Rollins would hit a RBI triple, scoring Coste, who has earlier reached base on a single, to give the Phillies a 7-4 lead. Rollins would then be thrown out at the plate, from Josh Hamilton to Kinsler to Saltalamacchia, when he tried to turn his triple into an inside the park home run, thus ending the inning. The Phillies would add one more run in the seventh, when Utley would hit a RBI double, scoring Shane Victorino, who has gotten on base with a lead off bunt single, making it an 8-4 Phillies’ lead. The Rangers would cut the Phillies’ lead in the eighth, when with Chad Durbin pitching in relief of Hamels, with two men out and the bases loaded, he would give up an RBI single to Max Ramirez, scoring Josh Hamilton, who has reached base earlier on a single, making it 8-5 Phils. Durbin would then be replaced by J.C. Romero. He would shortly walk Boggs, forcing in Milton Bradley, who has earlier singled, to make it an 8-6 Phillies’ lead. He would then buckle under and strike out Saltalamacchia to end the threat. Then in the ninth, Brad Lidge would come in to pitch, and later, with two men on and one out, he would strike out both Hamilton and Bradley to end the game and record his nineteenth save in nineteen tries.

Cole Hamels would get the win, going seven innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits and striking out eight. His record is now 8-5 with an ERA of 3.38. Chad Durbin would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up two earned runs on four hits. J.C. Romero would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits, walking a batter and striking out a batter. Brad Lidge would pitch the ninth, recording his nineteenth save, as he gave up no runs on two hits. Vicente Padilla would get the lost while getting hammered by the Phils, pitching six innings as he gives up seven earned runs on seven hits. His record is now 10-4 with an ERA of 4.13. Joaquin Benoit would pitch two innings of relief, giving up an earned run on two hits. Luis Mendoza would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up only one hit.

The bats, at least for this game, seems to have woken up, knocking in eight runs, although the batters are still going after early pitches or pitches way out of the strike zone. Utley is once more on a tear since breaking his 0 for several days ago, but is still taking the collar with men in scoring position. Hopefully this will be the precursor of a resurfacing of the Phillies’ dangerous offense.

The Phillies (44-38) will face the Rangers (41-41, 3rd American League West) for the rubber match of their weekend series. The game will be played at Rangers Park in Arlington, and will start at 6:05 pm Eastern (5:05 pm Central). The Phillies’ starter will be the veteran Jamie Moyer (7-5, 4.09), who is coming off a hard lost against the A’s on June 24, where he would pitch well until the seventh inning, going six and two-third innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits, in the Phillies’ 5-2 lost. Career wise, he is 4-5 with a 5.50 ERA in thirteen starts at Rangers Park. Like Cole Hamels on Saturday, he will be trying for his eighth victory of the year while hoping that he can help lead the Phils to their first series victory since their sweep of the Braves at Atlanta. He will be opposed by rookie starter Eric Hurley (0-1, 4.24), who is coming off his first career start at the hand of the Astros on June 24, where he went six innings, giving up two earned runs on six hits, in the Rangers’ 4-3 lost. In three career starts, he has a lost and two no-decisions. He will be trying for his first career win while hoping that the Phillies’ bats have not come back from the dead.

The Phillies’ lead are now back to two, four and four games ahead of the Marlins, the Braves and the Mets respectively, who have all lost their games. The Phillies will conclude interleague play tomorrow night, before having an off-day on Monday, before starting a three games series with the Atlanta Braves in Hot-lanta, hoping to face the Braves with a reignited offense.

The Phillies (43-38) finish their involvement in interleague play by playing the last two games of their first visit with the Rangers (41-40, 3rd American League West), both night games at Rangers Park in Arlington. The first game will start tonight at 8:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Central). The Phillies’ starter will be Cole Hamels (7-5, 3.27) who will be trying to end the Phillies’ present skid. He is coming off a hard lost to the Angels on June 22, where he pitched seven innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits in the Phillies’ 3-2 lost. He will once again be trying for his eighth win of the year while, as mentioned earlier, trying to end the Phillies’ present slide. His opponent will be ex-Phil Vicente Padilla (10-3, 3.74), who is coming off a win against the Nationals on June 22, where he went seven innings, giving up only two earned runs on five hits, in the Rangers’ 5-3 win. He has won his last three starts, going nineteen combined innings, giving up only eight earned runs on fourteen hits. He will be trying to make it four wins in a row, while hoping that the Phillies’ previous night’s scoring binge will not be the precursor of a resurgence of the Phillies’ offense.

The final game of the series will be played tomorrow night at 6:05 pm Eastern (5:05 pm Central). The Phillies will send to the mound the veteran Jamie Moyer (7-5, 4.09), who has lost his last start against the A’s on June 24, where he would pitch well until the seventh inning, thus going six and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits. He will be trying to break a personal two games losing streak and help see about getting the Phils back on the winning track. The Rangers will counter with Eric Hurley (0-1, 4.24), who is coming off a lost to the Astros on June 24, going six innings, giving up two earned runs on six hits, in the Rangers’ 4-3 lost. In three previous starts, he has taken a lost and two no-decisions. He will be trying for his first career victory, while hoping not to wake up the Phillies’ bat.

The Phillies are leading the Marlins by a full game as they start their game tonight with the Diamondbacks. The Mets are presently still three games behind the Phillies as they trail the Yankees in their game at Shea Stadium. The Braves are now trailing the Phillies by three and a half game as they have just lost their game with the Blue Jays. The Phillies will be trying to end their most recent slid and hopefully start a winning streak behind the pitching of both Hamels and Moyer.

The Phillies have now lost two games in a row as Brett Myers pitches himself out of the starting rotation after being unable to get anyone out in the bottom of the third inning as the Phillies lose to the lowly Rangers, 8-7. The Rangers would take the lead in the first as Ian Kinsler hits a solo home run off of Myers’ second pitch, his thirteenth home run of the season, to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Myers would seem to have settle down after that, while the Phillies were able to score some runs off of Rangers’ starter, Kason Gabber, in the top of the third. The inning would begin with Gabber being unable to find the strike zone, as he walks Eric Bruntlett. Jayson Werth would then get on base via a fielding error by Gabber, which would send Bruntlett to second base. Chase Utley would then get the second walk of the inning, loading the bases. Jimmy Rollins then follows with a ground out, shortstop to first, which would score Bruntlett, tying the ballgame at one apiece, while moving both Werth and Utley up a base. Pat Burrell is then intentionally walked by Gabber to reload the bases for him to face Ryan Howard. Howard would go down swinging for out number two. Pedro Feliz would then pick him out by hitting a grand slammer off of Gabber, his ninth home run of the year, scoring Werth, Utley and Burrell, while giving the Phillies what should have been a lights out 5-1 lead. The Phillies’ inning would then end with Shane Victorino grounding out. After being given such a big lead, most pitchers would then buckle down and go after the hitters. But that did not happen with Brett “I don’t like leads” Myers, as he would proceed to have a melt down on the mound in the bottom half of the third. Kinsler would greet him with a double, soon to be followed by an infield single for Michael Young. Josh Hamilton would then get an infield single off of Myers’ glove, loading the bases, with nobody out. Myers would then proceed to walk Milton Bradley, scoring Kinsler, and cutting the Phils’ lead down to 5-2. A second straight walk to David Murphy, which would score Hamilton with the Rangers’ third run of the night, would be enough for Charlie Manuel to watch as he comes out to replace a struggling Myers with Clay Condrey, and leave the bases loaded, as the Phillies now lead 5-3. Condrey would get Marlon Byrd to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to get two quick outs, while Hamilton scores on the play, to cut the lead down to 5-4 Phillies, with a runner on third, giving the Phils a chance to get out of the inning with the lead. But it was not to be, as Condrey would give up a two-run home run to rookie Chris Davis, the first home run of his career, to give the lead back to the Rangers, 6-5. The inning would finally end with Jarrod Saltalamacchia lining out to left. In the fourth, the Phillies would tie the game, as Chris Coste hits a lead off home run, his seventh of the year. The Rangers would retake the lead in the fifth, when, with one out, Bradley would hit a home run off of the foul pole for his sixteenth home run of the year. At this point, both teams’ bullpens would keep the game close until the bottom of the eighth, when, with Rudy Seanez pitching in relief of J.C. Romero, he would give up a RBI sacrifice fly to Hamilton, scoring Kinsler, who has earlier walked, and has moved to third on Young’s double, giving the Rangers an 8-6 lead. That would be the different, as, with the Rangers’ closer C.J. Wilson pitching in the ninth, he would give up a solo home run to Werth, leading off the inning, to make it an 8-7 Rangers’ lead. After getting the next two Phils’ batters out, Wilson would give up a double to Burrell and then a single to Howard, which moved pinch runner Geoff Jenkins to third, who was held there by the third base coach, instead of taking a chance of sending him home, since the ball has rolled off of shortstop Young’s glove, to tie the game. Instead, Wilson would finally end the game by getting Greg Dobbs to ground out, recording his seventeenth save of the year.

Brett Myers gets a no-decision as he self-destructs on the mound after pitching only two innings plus five batters, giving up five earned runs on five hits and walking two batters, which would end up being costly. This performance would appear to have finally taken Myers out of the starting rotation as Manuel has finally lost his patience with him. The questions now are, what are the Phillies going to do with Myers and how will this affect both the rotation and the bullpen? Clay Condrey would take the lost as he pitches two and two-thirds innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits. His record is now 1-1 with a ERA of 4.36. Ryan Madson would go an inning and a third, giving up only one hit. J.C. Romero woud follow him with a scoreless, hitting inning. Rudy Seanez would pitch an inning, giving up an earned run on one hit. Kason Gabbard would also pitch a no-decision, as he pitches only three and a third inning, giving up six runs, only one of which would be earned, on only four hits. Josh Rupe would get the win as he goes two and a third innings, giving up no runs on no hits. His record is now 3-1 with a 3.43 ERA. Frank Francisco would pitch a scoreless, hitless inning and a third. Eddie Guardado would pitch a hittless, scoreless inning as well. C.J. Wilson would pitch the ninth, giving up a run on three hits, recording his seventeenth save of the year.

The Phillies’ offense, inspite of actually scoring some runs, is still mired in its collective slump, as almost all of their runs would come in via the long ball, as the batters are still swinging at the pitcher’s junk, thus getting themselves out. To this problem is now added the confusion that will be caused by Myers’ final meltdown on the mound in the third inning after being given a four run lead thanks to Feliz’s earlier grand slam. No one at this point knows what is going on inside Myers’ head, as Manuel will now have to decide who to use in place of Myers for his upcoming start against the Braves in Atlanta next week, as well as for him to determine what to do now with both the rotation and the bullpen in general since it is obvious that unless the Phillies can bring up someone from within their farm system, the replacement starter will have to come from the bullpen (probably Chad Durbin), and no one knows if Myers will be working from within the bullpen, and how that will affect the rest of the National League leading bullpen. Thank you Brett Myers for creating this situation. I hope that you are proud of yourself.

The final interleague series between the Phillies (43-38) and the Rangers (41-40, 3rd American League West) will continue in Arlington, at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The game will begin at 8:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Central). The Phillies will be sending to the mound their ace Cole Hamels (7-5, 3.27) to end their present slide. He is coming off a recent lost against the Angels on June 22, as he would pitch seven innings, giving up only three earned runs on six hits, in the Phillies’ 3-2 lost. He will be trying once again for his eighth victory while trying to avoid getting hit in this hitters’ friendly park. He will be counter by former-Phil Vicente Padilla (10-3, 3.74), who is coming off a win against the Nationals on June 22, as he pitched seven innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits, in the Rangers’ 5-3 win. This will be his first start against his former team. He will be trying to defeat his former ballclub, while hoping that last night’s game was not a possible precurser to a Phillies’ batting resurgence.

With the lost, the Phillies’ lead drop to a game over the Marlins as the fish defeated the Diamondbacks. The Braves are now trailing the Phillies by three game, back in a tie for third place, as they defeated the Blue Jays. The Mets are also three games behind the Phillies, as they spilt their doubleheader with the Yankees, dropping the night cap at Shea Stadium. The Phillies will once again try to break out of their collective team hitting slump and try to put some distance between them and the rest of the East before their day off on Monday.

The Phillies (43-37) continue their nine games, three cities, road trip, with a weekend interleague play series against the Texas Rangers (40-40, 3rd American League West) in Arlington, Texas. The first game of the series will be played at Rangers Park in Arlington, and will begin at 8:05 pm Eastern (7:05 pm Central). The Phillies’ starter for tonight’s game will be Brett Myers (3-9, 5.51), who has just come off a lost against the Angels on June 21, where he would pitch six innings, giving up four earned on six hits, in the Phillies’ 6-2 lost. Myers has, along with several bad starts, been hurt mainly by the long balls this year, of which he has so far given up twenty-three. He has lost three of his last four starts, while the fourth one was also lost by the Phillies, in which he has been tagged for eight four-baggers in the last three. If he is going to win another game, he is going to have to not just throw more non-fastballs, he’ll need to stop throwing pitches into the opposing batters’ hit zone to avoid giving up any more gopher balls. He will be trying to get his fourth win of the year, while hoping that it won’t end up being another fiasco. The Rangers will oppose him with Kason Gabbard (2-3, 4.96), who is coming off a win against the Nationals on June 21, where he would pitch five and a third innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits, in the Rangers’ 13-3 rout. He will be trying to even his record as he face the Phillies for the first time in his career.

The Phillies’ offense, which has now lost five straight series will now be facing an American League team that can not be considered an elite ball club. The players should thus take this opportunity to try and be more patient at the plate, while staying aggressive on the base paths once they get on, to help shake things up. The players need to stop being a ballclub that’ll swing at anything that is thrown at them, as well as stop swinging at the first balls that are thrown at them during their individual at bats (That especially means you, Jimmy.). And they’ll need to be especially patient when they have men in scoring position. It would help the club if they can get up to batter’s box with a runner on either second or third and not end up either popping up or striking out. They’d been doing too much of that lately, and quite frankly, it needs to stop before it can get any worst. They should thanks their lucky stars that the rest of the division is at the moment playing just as lousy as they are, but they will need to get their present problems sorted out before they begin their three games series in Atlanta next Tuesday, as I am sure that the Braves will be wanting to get even with the Phils for that earlier sweep at their home ball park.

Speaking of the National League East, the Phillies presently have a two games lead over the Marlins, who will be facing the Diamondbacks for a three games set in Miami. The Mets trail them by three and a half games, as they take the subway for a four games series with the Yankees, including a day/night doubleheader today that will be played at both stadiums, the first of which has the Mets trailing the Bronx Bombers. The Braves trail the Phillies by four games, as they go to Toronto, Canada, to start a three games series with the Blue Jays. The Phillies hope that they can put some distance between themselves and the rest of the East before they once again play against fellow National League teams.

Edit: The Mets are now trailing the Phillies by three games as they defeat the Yankees at Yankee Stadium for the first half of a double header.

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